The Silk Roads: A New History Of The World

This is one of those books that exposes the depths of my ignorance. I have to admit that I was educated conventionally, which meant that history started in Greece and swept westwards over the centuries. It was all about Europe, with jus a slight nod to Egypt during the Roman era, and how the world accorded with events in Europe. To a younger me, the idea that the centre of Asia would have a long and involved history would have sounded as an absurdity.

How wrong I was. There was an extremely large gap in my knowledge, and this book has exposed to me the some of the dimensions of that gap. At a late age, I now find myself wanting to fill that gap. I know little of the history of China, Persia, India, the Near East, the Far East, the Middle East. In fact, anywhere east of Greece. And I count myself as an educated man!

Now that the epicentre of the world is reverting back to the Heart of Eurasia, it has become more urgent and insistent that I catch up with my knowledge. If we are to understand the world in which we live now, we cannot ignore the Imperial legacy in the Persian Gulf and the Caspian Basin. If we want to engage with our own near futures, we have to have some knowledge of the great trading routes across the spine of Asia - the routes known collectively as the Silk Roads.

This book tells the tale of many roads. I like the way in which it is organised. It shows that one road leads to another and before we know it, we arrive at the present. The book is rich in scholarship and presents a coherent account of where we are today. It explains the significance of the Belt and Road Initiative, and why it is that China is willing to wager large stakes on it's success. It explains the historical basis of the hostility towards the western powers in the Persian Gulf. And it helps to place the enigma of Russia in a wider historical context. With this knowledge of history, have a better understanding of our contemporary world.

There are many strands of the book that I would like to take further. The Asian expansion of Nineteenth Century Russia seems like an interesting topic for study. How much of this was trade driven? How much of it was just colouring the blank spaces of a European map? I think that will be the first place for me to revisit. There are many others. I am hoping that the bibliography and notes may provide some guidance here.

This is not a short read but it is an easy one. The book is written in an accessible style and the narrative helps the reader to flow from one topic to another. The style may not be to everyone's taste. The author has abandoned the dry style of the academic historian in favour of a more journalistic style for the benefit of the reader. I think that it works. It has certainly expanded my horizon greatly.

Stephen Aguilar-Millan

© The European Futures Observatory 2020